Bryan High School students are getting the opportunity of a lifetime through a new partnership with Northern Tool + Equipment and Monster Jam.
Over the next seven months, a group of Chris Lehde’s welding students will work with top mentors from Monster Jam to build a ⅓ scale Monster Jam truck. The Monster Jam Mini Build challenge is the latest iteration of Northern Tool + Equipment’s Tools for the Trades program.
“The opportunity to be able to have a once-in-a-lifetime project like this is honestly mind-blowing,” Bryan High School junior welding student Caleb Gates said. “I never thought I'd really be in this spot. I grew up watching Monster Jam. I grew up watching Grave Digger, so seeing that truck right now in person is mind-blowing.”
Grave Digger and El Toro Loco were both on-site at Northern Tool + Equipment’s new Bryan facility to help make the surprise announcement. In addition to unveiling to the students what their project would be, the event also included an announcement about a new three-year partnership between Northern Tool and Monster Jam.
Gates said his mind was going in every direction as he thought about what was ahead of the build team. As they begin the process, he said, he is looking forward to working together as a team, building friendships with his teammates and learning more skills and life lessons.
Chris Rosseach, senior director of global partnership for Monster Jam, said what they will be learning during this project goes beyond what is in a textbook and brings real-life experiences and problems to their class.
“I personally can’t imagine another high school classroom in the country doing anything cooler than what that classroom is going to be doing over the next seven months,” Rosseach said. “Not only are they going to build something, they’re going to do with the support of [guest mentors].”
Lehde said he did not think a phone call to Northern Tool + Equipment asking if they would be willing to donate some equipment to the BHS CTE program would turn into an offer to take on the Monster Jam Mini Build challenge. It is an exciting opportunity he knows his students are prepared to tackle.
He received the challenge a few weeks ago and had to keep it a secret until Tuesday, Lehde said. He selected the team based on the applications he received from his students, but said he has told all his students that they are welcome to bring him their ideas and suggestions.
Lehde said he is excited to help lead all his students through this experience and pass on skills that he has gained through his background in the trades.
As part of the Tools for the Trades program, Bryan High School and 10 other schools will receive donated equipment to use in their CTE classrooms.
“We’re trying to address and ignite a passion for the next generation of students for the trades; get them exposure and one-of-a-kind life experiences,” Northern Tool + Equipment co-owner Wade Kotula said.
Armando Castro, who drives the Monster Jam truck El Toro Loco, said he is looking forward to working with the students as one of their mentors this school year.
“I had mentors myself I looked up to, and now the tables are reversed,” he said. “It’s so cool to be on the other side of the table now and to just give hope to these kids that they can do anything they put their mind to.”
He said the lessons they will learn as they work as a group, develop a plan and overcome obstacles will provide a great stepping stone to whatever they choose to pursue after graduating from high school.
“There’s a lot of kids at that age in high school where they don’t know what they want to do,” Castro said. “This big platform and opportunity doesn’t really get handed to you often, so the biggest thing is when you get an opportunity like this, you have to really put your mind into it and just run with it because you never know where it’s going to take you.”
In June, the students’ completed ⅓ scale Monster Jam truck will make its debut at Monster Jam’s event at the Moody Center in Austin.
“I'm super excited for these kids to be able to put their work out there and go and showcase it to 20,000 people and to the nation,” Lehde said. “I think it's gonna be a great time.”
Kotula said people can follow the students’ progress in a video series on the Northern Tool + Equipment YouTube channel.
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